Are we creatures of habit? 'If only I could capture that moment in time...' This is a project 365 blog which aims to capture one moment, twice a day.

Sunday, 19 May 2013

Day 158: Count me in, it's back to the orchestra

Day 158 (13 May) Back to Monday, back to work. It is week 11 in the teaching semester so just three weeks left.

Reading, at 6.12am

Monday is my South Brisbane day so I don't have to be up as early as other days. Still, I wake up at the usual time and so have a little 'luxury' time, reading. I'm getting through A Clockwork Orange and although I know of its reputation, I wonder if I should be seeing the play in a couple of weeks. I think the fact it is a 'classic' is drawing me in...plus I like theatre.

South Bank, pm

This week's topic is the public service and interest groups. I plan to introduce the students to the Northcote-Treyvelan report on the civil service, 1854. It is readily available on the internet and I think it is important to show students the value of primary sources, the lyricism of the language of days gone by and the fact that a lot of very little in history is 'new'...I also remain fascinated with the way the internet can be used as a teaching tool, the fact that I can easily pull up a facsimile copy of an 1854 document...too easy. We enjoy a good discussion afterwards and get a bit of an early mark because there is no tute presentation after the lecture. That gives me a chance to head over to South Bank to do a couple of chores and I guess just reinforces how different it is working in the city compared with commuting 200km each day to work. I realise that I only have this luxury for another two weeks, I have enjoyed it.

Working but thinking rehearsal, at 6.12pm

Home at a reasonable hour I set about doing some more work and making a late lunch/early dinner mash-up. I also realise that it is rehearsal night. I have a decision to make. It has been difficult to get back into the swing of things this year with the orchestra. I was a little damaged by some committee politics last year and haven't had my usual enthusiasm for it so far this year, in fact, I don't think I've been at all. Chas had told me to put it aside and get back to it...it is something I enjoy after all, it is very special to be part of an orchestra. With Chas's passing last week, for St Lucia Orchestra was one of his orchestras too, I realise that if I don't go back tonight, I may never go back and my mate Bromley would be saddened. I debate it internally for an hour; Bromley wins and I take a deep breath and go to rehearsal...it was OK. When I get home, I raise a glass of red in his memory, and thank him quietly. Chas, still here.

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Getting started

At 6.12am on 6 /12

What am I doing?

Twelvepastsix, or 6.12, is an experiment in observation. I've long been fascinated by patterns in numbers, patterns in life. The 'SevenUp' series is perhaps one of my favourite documentaries. I'm fascinated and inspired in equal parts by the history captured in this style. The project 365 which I have discovered through Twitter, allows me, I think, a way to capture my experiment, on a much smaller scale.

My thinking was originally centred on choosing a time each day, the same time, to observe and understand behaviours in a small way. I toyed with a few ideas but decided on 6.12am/pm, for reasons set out in the first post: 6 December 2012, naturally.

The project will double as a brief journal of each day's events as well, to capture the small detail in its larger context. At year's end, I will be interested to see, just to what extent our days can be as habitual or as extraordinary as we recall.

The 'rule' is reasonably simple: I take a photo of whatever I am doing at 6.12, only the timezone may change depending on circumstances (where photography might be discouraged, forbidden or banned, for example). Most days should have two photos; most days should exist, notwithstanding crossings of the international dateline.

Finally, while this blog is inspired by community of presenters, producers, listeners and tweepsters of Brisbane radio station 612ABC, it is not endorsed by, or in any other way, affiliated with them.

About Me

I am an international relations academic specialising in Japan-Australia relations, Japanese and Australian politics and society and related areas. In April 2016, I relocated to Tokyo where I teach Japanese politics and Peace Studies in Japanese to Japanese students. I intend to write about these topics as well as serious distractions such as music, cricket, rugby league, books, photography and philosophy.